Don’t be fooled by the pristine packaging and “farm-fresh” labels. The chicken breast you casually toss into your cart likely has a origin story far removed from the idyllic pastoral scenes pictured on the box. The reality is that the vast majority of supermarket chicken comes from a highly industrialized system designed for maximum output and efficiency, not animal welfare or flavor. These are not birds that have roamed freely; they are the product of intensive farming, where their lives are meticulously managed from hatch to harvest in vast, enclosed sheds housing tens of thousands of birds.

This system relies on a specific breed of chicken, selectively engineered to grow at an unnaturally rapid rate, reaching slaughter weight in just about five to six weeks. This accelerated growth, a stark contrast to the months it took for traditional breeds decades ago, places immense strain on the birds’ bodies, often leading to lameness and other health issues. Their entire existence is standardized—from the controlled climate and artificial lighting designed to encourage constant eating to the specially formulated feed that fuels their swift development. The goal is uniformity: each bird must be nearly identical in size and weight to fit the automated processing lines.